Always be together
by rocky
Summary: A four-part story about the events surrounding the Potters' deaths.
1. Lily

Lily hummed softly to herself

A/N: Argh. Don't you just hate it when you have the perfect story in your head, but when you try to write it, it doesn't work out? Well, I hate it ;) This story sort of took a life of its own, it was very different when I first thought of it. Oh well, I'm always a critic of my own writing. I do hope you like it, I think there will only be 3 chapters in this whole thing…but who knows? This story is from Lily's POV…the others won't be, just a lil FYI. I apologize greatly for all and any grammatical and spelling mistakes I know I must have made. Please forgive me ;) Please review, good or bad, let me know what you think. Thanks!

Disclaimer: Of course, these characters don't belong to me, they belong to JK Rowlings. But I think everyone knows that.

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Chapter 1

Lily hummed softly to herself. She lazily stirred the chowder she was making with her wand, adding potatoes to it as the wand went slowly round. The smell of the chowder turned the kitchen into a very warm, inviting atmosphere. Lily loved it.

Harry's tiny whimpers brought Lily sharply back from her peaceful reverie. She turned and looked at her young son lying in his playpen, staring pitifully at her with his blazing green eyes. Lily smiled. Harry seemed to know she couldn't resist those eyes of his.

Putting a lid on the chowder, she walked over to Harry. Seeing his mother approaching, he starting making cooing noises. Lily laughed and scooped him up.

"What do you think you're doing, hm? Distracting mummy while she's cooking?" Harry simple grabbed her nose in reply.

It was a brisk fall day. James and Lily had been married for a little over a year, and Lily had never regretted a moment of it. She was the happiest she had ever been. Even though she and James were currently in hiding from Voldemort…well, she didn't care as long as she had her family. 

Lily strolled into the living room with Harry bundled in her arms. She dug her wand out and quickly started tidying the room with a few simple charms she knew. She smiled to herself, glad she had paid attention in Charms class. She would have hated to have to do all the cleaning without magic…she had much more important things to pay attention to, Harry for instance.

Harry reminded Lily of this fact by sharply pulling on her hair.

"Ouch!" Lily looked reproachfully at her son. "You know, you're turning into your father." Harry simply giggled in his baby way and began sucking on a strand of his mother's hair. 

Lily sighed resignedly and looked out the window. Speaking of James, he should've been home by now. She was always worried when he came home late, now that Voldemort was searching for them.

__

But of course, she reminded herself, _he is out with the boys right now._ The boys, of course, were Sirius, Remus, and Peter. They always seemed to keep him later.

Lily rolled her eyes and smiled at the thought of the four of them. Inseparable, that's what they were. _Not that it's a bad thing…almost sweet in a way_ she thought to herself, quickly straightening some cushions. 

The three of them were coming over for dinner that night. They did that a lot…Lily was convinced none of them knew how to feed themselves. But then she had to admit, she didn't mind really…she enjoyed seeing them as much as James did.

She looked at Harry in her arms. He had replaced her hair with his thumb. "Are you excited to see Uncle Sirius, Harry?" she chattered at him. "And Uncle Remus? And Uncle Peter?" Harry made a contented gurgling sound. "I'll take that as a yes" she said, tickling Harry.

Normally she wouldn't care how her house looked for those three, but Sirius was bringing his girlfriend tonight. _What was her name?_ Lily thought. _Sarah? Yes, that was it. _Normally Lily wouldn't tidy her house for one of Sirius' girlfriends; he had so many of them. But he had been dating Sarah for a while now.

"What is it now, six months? Yes, that sounds right" she muttered to herself. James and confidentially told Lily that Sirius was thinking of popping the question to her…and if this girl was going to be Sirius' future wife, Lily wanted to make a good first impression.

Lily set Harry back in his playpen and frowned at the quickly darkening sky. Even when out with his friends, James wasn't usually this late. Just as she was starting to think about going to look for him, she heard a loud yell and laughter. She sighed. That was Sirius all right, and that meant James was with him. _Thank God_ she thought.

Sweeping Harry up, she went out to greet her husbands and friends at the door. James was just making his dramatic entrance as she got there. "Honey, I'm home!" 

Lily rolled her eyes. James always loved to put on a big show in front of his friends.

"Heya, Harry!" A tall, dark-haired man rushed up to Lily and scooped up Harry, throwing him up into the air and catching him.

"Sirius, be careful!" Lily said reproachfully.

"Oh Lily, he's fine. See, he likes it!" Sirius looked triumphantly at his laughing godson.

Lily shook her head and looked back to the doorway. A gaunt young man was standing there, holding up his tired looking coat. "Er…" he muttered. 

"In the coat closet, Remus" Lily said, smiling at him. 

"Right," said Remus, returning her smile. 

"And hello to you too," said the third man. Lily looked at her husband_. Harry looked so much like him_ she though. Although she didn't have much time to reflect upon this, as James reached over, swooped her up and kissed her. 

"James!" Lily's protest sounded very muffled under his lips. 

"Ah, you know you love it," said Sirius, bouncing his godson on his knee. Remus gave a half smile and went to go see Harry.

James broke the kiss to look at Lily. "Yeah" he whispered. "You know you love it."

Lily hit him playfully. "That's enough of that." She looked briefly around the room. "Where's Peter…and Sirius, didn't you say Sarah was coming?"

Remus shook his head. "Peter said he had to catch up on some work. Poor guy, he hasn't had a moment's rest the last couple of weeks."

"And Sarah," butted in Sirius "wasn't feeling too well tonight, decided to stay at home." He looked hopefully at Lily. "I promised her I'd bring back some food though…"

Lily laughed. "Count on you to be the first to ask for extras, Sirius. Of course you can take some with you."

Sirius smiled broadly. "That's what I thought you'd say."

*

"Ahhh" sighed James, pushing back his chair and sticking out his feet. "Dee-licious, Lily, I must admit."

"Gee, what a compliment," said Lily, looking amusedly at her husband.

"It really was good, Lily" Remus said, scraping the last of the chowder from his bowl. "Quite excellent actually."

"It was ok, I've had better" Sirius smiled broadly at Lily.

Lily made a mock courtesy as she stood up to take things back to the kitchen. "Why thank you Sirius, you are too kind. James, would you take Harry to bed?" She looked at Harry. Half asleep in his high chair, his face was dangerously close to falling into his mashed peas. 

James chuckled at his son. "Yeah, why not. Care to help?" he asked, looking at his two friends.

Remus scratched his chin. "I'd love to James, but I should be going. Shouldn't hang around here too long…" Lily looked at Remus. He never stayed around much anymore, even since they went into hiding. She knew he was just worried about them, but still…

Sirius looked at Remus. "Yeah…yeah, I guess I'd better be gettin' back to Sarah." He pushed out his chair and sprang up. "Lily, I believe you promised me some chowder," he said, smiling charmingly. Lily sighed and went into the kitchen. _Ever since Sirius became our secret-keeper,_ she thought _they haven't been around at all. I just hate it…_

She walked back out to living room where Remus and Sirius were making odd cooing noises over Harry. Sirius saw Lily come in with the chowder and stood up, smiling "Ah, Lily, you are too good to us," he said, taking it off her hands.

"Don't remind me," muttered Lily.

Sirius turned to Remus, "Ready, Moony?" 

Remus patted Harry affectionately on the head and straightened up. "Of course, Padfoot. Thanks again Lily, James." 

"Don't mention it," said James, smiling wryly, holding Harry closer to him. 

As they were heading out the door, Sirius turned "Take care you two." A look passed between him and James, and then they were gone.

*

Lily stroked Harry's little head, watching him sleep. _He looks so peaceful. He has no idea of what's going on in the world…_Whenever Lily couldn't sleep she came into Harry's room. She had been coming in a lot lately. Seeing Harry sleeping always calmed her.

She heard a creak behind her. She jumped and spun around. "James! You startled me…"

James was leaning on the door, looking in on his wife and child. "Sorry, didn't mean to."  


Lily smiled. "I know. Come look at him, James, doesn't he look just like a little angle?"

James walked slowly over and looked into the crib. "Yeah" he murmured. "Yeah, he does." He turned to Lily and took her face in his hands. "What's wrong?"

"Whatya mean, what's wrong?" said Lily defensively.

James looked at her. "I know when something's wrong Lily…tell me?"

Lily sighed. "James, I just…I wish everything was back the way it was. I hate not being able to see our friends, Sirius, Remus, Peter…I hate being in hiding, I hate Voldemort and what he's doing to us…I just hate it all." A single tear rolled down her cheek, and she quickly turned her face from James. 

James gazed at his wife for a moment, then lifted her chin so he was looking into her beautiful green eyes. "I love you. We'll always be together, all of us. Nothing can change that" he whispered and kissed her passionately.

They were rudely interrupted by a loud tapping noise on the window. James unlocked his lips from Lily's and looked outside. A large owl was there, pecking at the window.

"Who would send a letter at this time of night?" Lily whispered, looking at James. James shrugged, a strange light in his eyes. He walked over to the window and opened it, relieving the owl of its letter. The bird gave a quiet hoot and swooped off into the night.

Lily looked back down at Harry, hoping the noise hadn't disturbed his sleep. No, he was still snoring quietly, sucking his tiny thumb. Lily smiled and reached down to pull up his blanket. She heard James give a quiet moan. She looked up sharply. "What is it?"

James looked up from the letter and met Lily's eyes. She was startled to see how sad they looked, how painful…

"What is it?" she whispered again, walking over to him.

James looked down at the letter. "It's from Sirius," he muttered. "Sarah's been murdered."


	2. Padfoot

Lily hummed softly to herself

A/N: Isn't it funny how stories take lives of their own? You think they'll go one way, then they go the other. This was definitely NOT how I wanted this section to turn out…ah well, whatcha gonna do? 

[Solitary Starlight][1] caught a lil mistake I made. Of course Lily would know Peter was the secret keeper…just a lil error on my part. Just play along, ok ;) Thanks for pointing it out though, I never would've thought of that.

Big, HUGE thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! You guys are the best *big hugs to everyone* I hope you enjoy this one…and once again, I apologize for all spelling mistakes that are bound to be in here.

Disclaimer: I don't think I'll ever fully understand why this has to be here. Of course these characters don't belong to me…only a genius like JK Rowlings could create them ;)

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Chapter 2

Sirius looked blearily at the shot glass of vodka in his hands. "Here's to Voldemort," he muttered. "May he fuckin' rot in hell." He watched the vodka for a moment more before tilting the glass up and pouring it down his throat.

He winced slightly as the fiery drink rushed down to meet the other contents of his stomach. Actually, the other contents of his stomach were mostly vodka. His goal at the moment was to get drunk. Really, really drunk. So drunk he couldn't remember the events of the last few days, so drunk the pain would be drowned out. But he did have a very high tolerance to alcohol. Always had. So he need lots of it. 

The last few days had been hell for him. He shuddered at the memories that flooded his brain. Leaving the Potter's house…saying good-bye to Remus a few blocks away from his own home…turning the corner to see his house with a floating Dark Mark over it. He couldn't remember if he had screamed or not. He did remember dropping the hot chowder Lily had given him. The only reason he remembered this was because the burn was still on his arm where the scalding liquid had hit him. The chowder…the chowder for Sarah…

Sirius' grey eyes watered up at the thought of her. Well, not the thought of her, but of his last picture of her. Lying in the middle of his living room, her blue, lifeless eyes staring vacantly at the ceiling. Someone had slit her throat…not to kill her, they had used Avada Kervada for that. _Just for kicks_ thought Sirius bitterly. 

He fumbled inside his coat pocket for a moment before pulling out a small black box. He held it in his hands, staring at it, before slowly opening it. Inside was a beautiful engagement ring, white gold with a sparkling diamond in the center. _It sparkles like her eyes_ he thought. He sighed and put the ring back in his pocket. _I don't need to be thinking about this. No…what I need is more vodka. _He called the bartender over. "Just keep it coming," he mumbled.

The bartended looked at him. "You've gotta pay for your other drinks first, buddy."

Sirius gave the bartender a piercing look. _Bastard_ he thought, as he pulled the ring out from his pocket and showed it to him. "I'll give you this ring if you just keep the drinks comin'" He knew it was a slightly foolish thing to do…still, he wouldn't be needing it anymore.

The bartended looked at it for a moment, then shook his head. "What do I look like, a bank? Cash or nothin'"

If looks could kill, the bartender would've dropped down dead right then. Unfortunately, Sirius didn't possess that talent. Muttering under his breath, he pushed the stool out and walked out of the bar into the cold night. 

He stood there, looking at the skies. Suddenly he started shouting.

"WHY? Why'd you have to take her? What did she ever do! She was perfect…perfect…" Sirius stopped and forced back the tears that were welling up in his eyes.

__

What now? he thought. _She's gone. What do I do now?_

Go home, a voice seemed to whisper to him. _Go home now._

Sirius laughed at the little voice. That was the last place he wanted to go right now. Too many memories…too many memories of Sarah. But it was getting rather cold out. He was loosing all feeling in his toes. He sighed. He was pretty sure he had some sort of alcoholic beverage at home…maybe home wasn't such a bad idea.

He kicked the leaves up as he walked slowly back to his house. James and Lily had been sending him owls ever since they heard the news. Asking how he was doing, was he ok. _What the fuck kinds of questions are those?_ He thought. _How would THEY be if the person they loved was suddenly ripped away from them. _Remus had been sending owls too, telling him he could stay at his house if he wanted. Sirius had considered it briefly. No memories of Sarah there. But he still hadn't decided to accept the offer or not.

As he walked up his front driveway, he searched in his pockets for his house key. "Shit." he said, realizing where it was. Inside, on his living room table. "Why the hell did I lock the doors" he muttered. He sighed and slid down so he was sitting against the door, closing his eyes, trying to block out memories. 

Just as he was about to mercifully pass into oblivious slumber, he heard a soft hoot beside him. Startled, he jumped, turned and saw a white owl sitting next to him, holding a message. Sirius muttered something about "damn bird" and snatched the letter from the owl, who left in a huff.

Sirius looked at the letter. _Very short actually, more of a note_ he thought. Who's handwriting was it? _Remus'_ he decided. But it didn't quite look like his, it was too messy. Like it was written very hastily. Sirius shook his head and read the message on it.

__

Sirius,

Voldemort's found them.

-Remus

Sirius looked at the letter in disbelief. Them? Who was them? Recognition slowly dawned on his tired face.

The Potters.

__

But how? he thought desperately. _No, Remus is wrong. The charm they had used, they were completely safe, what with Peter as their secret-keeper. Peter would never tell--_

Peter.

Peter had told Voldemort.

Sirius leapt up with a sudden energy he had not had for days. _Maybe they're still alive_ he thought. _I've got to find them. And then…I'll find Peter._

There was a vacant look in his eyes as he got on his motorbike and started it, soaring into the skies. He remembered when he had first gotten it, how he and James had fixed it up. Lily hated the thing, always had, always would. Said it was way too dangerous. Forbid James to ride on it. Of course, he did anyway. Sirius gulped, willing the bike to go faster as he raced towards the Potter's home.

Sirius landed the bike amid a heap of smoldering ruins. _What is this? _he thought. Then he saw something. The old rocking chair James had always liked to sit in, lying broken near a smoking wooden beam. "No" he murmured. _It can't be. _

He walked around the wreckage, finding things that belonged to the Potters. Old pictures, furniture, James' broken glasses. Suddenly, a shot of red caught his eye. He looked at it more closely. Hair. Beautiful, red hair, the same color as Lily's…

"NO!" he shouted and started digging through the rumble. He had to find them. He just had to…

He was pulled back suddenly by a large hand. Turning, he saw Hagrid standing there.

"Sirius?" he said questioningly. "What are yeh doin' here boy?"

"Hagrid!" said Sirius. "Hagrid, you've got to help me. They could be all right…" he trailed off, tears beginning to fall down his cheeks. "They could be all right…"

Hagrid looked at Sirius with a sad gleam in his eyes. "Ah'm sorry Sirius…"

Sirius shook his head. "No…not James…Lily…and Harry…"

Hagrid seemed to brighten up slightly. "No, not 'Arry. See?" He showed Sirius the small bundle he was carrying. Sirius looked inside and saw his godson, a bleeding gash on his small forehead. 

"Harry?" Sirius murmured. "But how…"

Hagrid shook his head "Don' rightly know. Reflected Voldemort's curse somehow…"

Sirius stared at the small child. "Hagrid," he said suddenly, "Let me keep him. Please, I'll take good care of him, I'm his godfather, James and Lily entrusted his LIFE with me…"

Hagrid shook his head sadly. "Can't. Dumbledore told me to take 'Arry to him straight away."

Sirius looked piercingly at his godson, sleeping peacefully in Hagrid's arms. A strange look passed over his face. "All right," he said softly. "Use my motorbike, will you? It'll be faster."

Hagrid looked at him in disbelief "Sirius, yeh know I couldn't do that—"

"Yes," said Sirius. "Take it. I won't be needing it." He looked once more at Harry. "So long kid," he whispered. "Take care."

And with that he turned away from the wreckage, from the memories of his friends. He only had one goal left. And he wasn't going to fail.

He had to kill Peter. 

   [1]: http://www.fanfiction.net/index.fic?action=Directory-AuthorProfile&UserID=108663



	3. Wormtail

Lily hummed softly to herself

A/N: Actually, I wasn't originally planning to write this chapter. But then I thought, why not? I realized the story was getting a lil cliché, so I decided to add it. I know there aren't a whole lot of things from Peter's POV, and I thought it might be interesting to try it. Sorry if it sucks, I tried my hardest ;) 

Once again, major thanks to all you wonderful reviewers out there. What can I say, I love you all.

At the moment I am on a rabid search for a story I once read. I really need to start taking some ginkgo pills, or whatever it is that improves your memory. Anyway, it's a Harry Potter fic centered around Fred Weasley. The plot is basically a play off of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Tale". After George's death, Fred has become a drug addict. He is eventually shown how his actions affect his family and friends. If you know the title or author of this story, please email me! I would be forever grateful :) 

Sorry for any and all spelling and grammar mistakes in here…I do try not to make them, but it is so terribly hard.

Disclaimer: You've read one of these things you've read 'em all. None of the characters belong to me, they're all JK Rowlings (except Sarah…but she wasn't in here for very long now was she?)

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Chapter 3

A short, stout man ran down a dark street. It was easy to see he wasn't used to doing this sort of thing very often. It seemed a huge effort for him. He paused on a street corner to force air into his lugs, extremely careful not to step into the glow from the streetlight. A thin trickle of sweat ran down his forward, and a pitiful moan escaped from his throat.

Peter Pettigrew wiped the sweat away. _What now?_ he thought. _They'll come after me…the whole Ministry will be after me…_

It wasn't the Ministry Peter was too worried about though. No, he could probably hide from them. They didn't know he was an Animagi. But there were two people who did know, who could find him…

Sirius and Remus.

Peter let out a small whimper at the thought of these two. _They'll hunt me down_ he thought desperately. _After what I've done. _A small tear trickled down his cheek. _Poor James. And Lily…she was always so kind…_

Five years ago, Peter never would have dreamed of doing this. Never. He loved James like a brother. James had always looked out for him, protected him.

But then he had found someone who could offer something more. Not only protection, but power. And lots of it.

Voldemort.

Peter involuntary cringed at the thought of him. Every fiber of Peter's body was repulsed by him. His awful glowing eyes, his snake-like nose. But at the same time, every fiber of his body was called to him. Not to him, but to what he had to offer. Power.

Peter had always been slightly jealous of his friends. James, Sirius, and Remus. All three of them could perform the hardest bit of magic just like that, while Peter struggled just to grasp the concept of it. He had always hidden his jealousy though, never let it show. But that envy never really went away, never left him.

Then, five years ago, Voldemort found him. How, Peter didn't know. All he knew was that Voldemort had wanted someone like him, someone simple, someone who the Ministry would never suspect of being a Dark Wizard. Peter had been shocked by his offers at first, frightened. But then he grew more interested. Voldemort told Peter he could be a great wizard, if only he followed his master faithfully. He could rule the world…

Peter had given in. The thing he had wanted his whole life was being given to him on a silver platter. Or so it seemed at the time. After several years of helping Voldemort with his evil schemes, Peter had wanted out. Wanted out desperately. But he couldn't. Voldemort had too much influence over him, too much control. Peter was just a puppet in his hands, doing his frightful biddings.

Then Voldemort had told him. He wanted James Potter. He wanted him dead. He wanted to kill him. And he wanted Peter to help him.

Peter had never been more frightened in his whole life. He couldn't, wouldn't help Voldemort kill his best friend. After all James had done for him…why, it was James who helped him become an Animagi. But Voldemort insisted. Peter was powerless to resist.

A gleam of hope seemed to show at the end of the dark tunnel though. The Potters were taking strong precautions, with help from Dumbledore. They were performing some sort of charm that would keep them hidden from Voldemort. Peter couldn't understand the procedures that went along with this charm, they were too complicated. But he understood one thing. They needed a secret keeper, and once they had that person Voldemort would never be able to find them. Peter figured he'd be off the hook. Say "Sorry Master, but they have a secret keeper! There's nothing I can do."

That hope faded quickly. Sirius talked to him, explained to him he wanted Peter to be the secret keeper. "It's safer this way," he had said, a troubled look in his eyes. "Voldemort would come right after me, but you…you've got a shot." Of course Peter had agreed. He couldn't refuse without looking suspicious. So he became the Potter's secret keeper. He had to tell Voldemort.

Peter had been crying when he told him. Sobbing, barely able to get the words out. When he finally did, Voldemort simply smiled. Chuckling, he walked out the door. Peter was alone. He had succeeded to his master, but he had failed to his friends.

And now he was alone again. The news traveled very quickly that Voldemort had been destroyed. Peter had heard within an hour. He always thought he would be happy when he heard this news. Instead, he was filled with fear. 

There was no one to protect him. No one to protect him from Sirius and Remus.

Peter knew they would come after him. He knew they would show no mercy. So he ran. He didn't know where he was going. He found himself in a small Muggle town. _I'll be safe here_ he thought. _They wouldn't come searching in a Muggle village_. He gulped. Hopefully they wouldn't…

Peter's hopes rose as the day wore on. It was midday now, and he had seen no sign of Sirius, Remus, or the Ministry, just lots of Muggles. And of course, they were oblivious to what was going on. Peter began making plans. He would buy a ticket on a ship to somewhere far away…maybe America, he wasn't sure. And there he could start a new life. A new, clean life. He would be safe.

Things were going according to plan. Things were looking bright. Then Peter spotted him.

Sirius was walking down a crowded street, looking at all the people. Searching for someone. For Peter.

Peter began to shake. Sirius would find him. It was only a matter of time before he spotted him. He was going to kill him…

__

No. I can't die, not this way, not now…

Then he had an idea. His eyes grew wide as he whispered "Sirius was going to be the secret keeper…"

No one knew it was really Peter, not even Remus or Dumbledore. If he could just…but no, how could he do that? Sirius was his friend…but then, he was out to kill him. It was a terrible, awful idea…but it would save him. Save him from death. And with all the curses he had learned from Voldemort…it would work.

Peter flung himself into the street, running towards Sirius. Running so fast no one could tell how badly his legs were shaking, how distressed his eyes looked.

"Sirius!" he shouted. Sirius looked with a start and saw him. Peter saw his eyes grow dark, but Peter continued to run towards him.

"Sirius!" he yelled out, tears brimming in his eyes. He had always been rather good at fake crying. "How could you? Lily and James, Sirius, how could you?" Sirius took a step backwards, his eyes searching Peter's. He said in a barely audible whisper "What are you trying to do, you fucking bastard".

Peter pretended not to hear, just continued walking purposely towards Sirius. Sirius continued to walk backwards, until finally he was up against a wall. Peter had him where he wanted him. Now, if he could just muster up the courage…

__

Keep yelling he thought. _You've got to keep yelling at him. _He started screaming at Sirius again, fumbling in his coat pocket for his wand. His fingers found it and wrapped around it. He slowly drew it out. Sirius saw this and his eyes widened. He quickly reached for his own wand.

Peter acted quickly. He muttered a quick charm and pointed the wand at his finger. He cried out in pain as his finger was severed from his body. _I have to act fast_. He took a deep breath, recited a curse Voldemort had once taught him, and changed into his Animagi form.

It took him a moment to get oriented. Things looked very different from a rat's point of view. He stood still for moment among his old clothes before climbing out and looking around. 

A huge crater had been blown in the street. Muggles everywhere were lying in the street, dead. Peter saw his own finger lying in a pool of blood…and then he saw Sirius. He had a confused look on his face. Then suddenly his face cleared of all emotions. A blank look came into this eyes, and he began to laugh. It wasn't the laugh Peter was used to though. This was a sad laugh, a foreboding laugh.

Peter's rat body shuttered involuntarily. Quickly, he came to his senses. _I have to get out of here._ He scurried off through the debris, leaving destruction and carnage in his wake.


	4. Moony

Lily hummed softly to herself ****

A/N: Sorry it took a lil while to get this thing finished up…I sorta started another story ;) And then I couldn't decide how to finish up this one and…well, you know how it goes. But here it is! Maybe a lil later than I promised, but that's ok! This is the last chapter *tear tear* so I hope you all enjoy it. I had some troubles writing it, so I don't know how good it is…

I don't know how much more I'll be writing about James, Lily, and all the rest of the Marauders. It just seems like everything that can be written about them has been done. Right now I'm working on "Hogwarts, A History" and I just feel like I can really do what I want with it. Not as many restrictions, ya know? Anyway, just a lil warning not to expect much more Marauders stuff out of me…unless there is high demand of course ;) But I'm not getting my hopes up.

Anyway, enjoy the last chapter, if you read please review, and thanks to everyone who's reviewed before! And as always, I apologize for all spelling and grammar mistakes. I know they're in here.

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Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, they're all JKR's. You thought differently?

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Chapter 4

Remus Lupin sat in the Three Broomsticks with a pint of butterbeer in front of him. He looked dismally at the amber liquid floating round in circles. _James used to love this stuff_ he thought, as a single tear rolled down his cheek and dropped into the butterbeer. Remus hastily wiped his eyes and looked around.

Remus had handled the shock of finding out that two of his best friends were dead rather well. He had cried, of course, but he hadn't just given into despair. Maybe it was because it hadn't been so much of a shock. _They never stood a chance_ he thought. _Not with Voldemort after them_…

He looked around the crowded bar. He had expected Sirius and Peter to show up…he'd sent them both owls that morning, asking them to meet him. Remus frowned. They usually at least responded to him. He had figured they would come, looking for companionship and consolation, just as he was. Although he hadn't given into despair, he was definitely depressed. He had loved James and Lily. Now they were gone. All he wanted to do now was talk to Sirius and Peter. Remus sighed. _They wouldn't do anything stupid, would they?_

He snorted into his drink. What a silly question. Sirius had been doing stupid things ever since Remus had met him. Peter had always been more sensible though; he usually just did whatever James did. Remus wiped his eyes again at the thought of his friend. _He's gone_.

Remus had been the first of his friends to find out the news. The Potters had been murdered, but little Harry had survived. Now the whole wizarding world was celebrating. And why shouldn't they? Voldemort was gone, defeated, destroyed. _But they didn't know the people who died_ thought Remus bitterly. _They had no clue who James and Lily were…_

Remus heard the bar door open, but he didn't bother looking up. Why should he? It had been opening and closing for the past two hours, and none of those times had it been Sirius or Peter. He heard footsteps coming near his table. Mere coincidence. The footsteps stopped.

"Hello, Remus," a kindly voice said. Remus looked up.

"Dumbledore? What are you doing here?"

Dumbledore smiled, but his smile looked somehow askew. _Something's wrong_ thought Remus. "Oh, just looking for you," Dumbledore said in response to his question. _Something's definitely wrong_ Remus thought. 

Dumbledore stared at Remus. "You've heard about the Potters I assume…"

Remus looked down. "Yeah," he whispered. 

Dumbledore shook his head. "Terrible," he muttered. "Just terrible." He looked at Remus a little longer. He cleared his throat slightly. "Remus, would you care to take a walk with me?"

Remus frowned and shook his head quickly. "I'm sorry Professor, I would, but I'm waiting for Sirius and Peter. I asked—'

"I think you should come with me, Remus." Remus looked up at Dumbledore, surprised by the despondent expression in his eyes. "All right," he said, grabbing his coat and following Dumbledore outside.

A cold gust of wind greeted Remus as he walked down the street, Dumbledore at his side. Dumbledore remained silent. Remus, although not wanting to interrupt his thoughts, was very anxious to hear what Dumbledore had to say. _He'll tell me when he's ready_ he told himself firmly, and kept walking in silence. 

Dumbledore continued walking until they had reached a small bench. Dumbledore stopped, wiped off the seat and sat down. "Please, have a seat," he said, looking at Remus and pointing at the other side of the bench.

Remus shrugged his shoulders. "I'm fine." After a small pause he asked, "Um, I don't mean to be rude Professor, but…was there something you wanted to tell me, or did you just want me to go on a walk with you? Because I really should be getting back soon, Sirius and Peter might be there already…"

Dumbledore's eyes flashed momentarily. He turned his head away and wiped at his eyes. _Is he crying?_ thought Remus. Somehow the thought of Dumbledore crying was very disheartening. But when Dumbledore turned his face back towards Remus, his eyes were clear and dry. 

"Remus," he said, looking straight at him. "Do you know how the Potters died?"

Remus looked at Dumbledore in disbelief. "Of course. Doesn't everyone? Voldemort came and…and…" Remus swallowed and blinked several times. "Well, any way, I know." he finished. 

"Yes," said Dumbledore quietly. He paused before continuing. "Remus…you knew Sirius was the Potters' secret keeper, correct?"

Remus nodded. "Yes, of course, but what does that…" Remus trailed off. _Sirius was the secret keeper. That means…_

"No," Remus mouthed, shaking his head. "No, not Sirius, he wouldn't…" he looked at Dumbledore, a tortured look in his eyes. 

Dumbledore looked sadly at Remus. "I'm so sorry." 

Remus continued to stare blankly at Dumbledore. "But…but Sirius would never…I mean, he and James were like _brothers_!" He looked pleadingly at Dumbledore. "It can't be true…" he whispered. 

Dumbledore was silent for a moment. When he spoke again, his voice sounded hoarse. "I suppose you haven't heard about Peter either."

Remus jumped slightly. "What about Peter?" he muttered quickly.

Dumbledore sighed. "Remus…there's no easy way to tell you this…Peter figured out what Sirius had done and went looking for him. He found him in a small Muggle village not far from here. He cornered Sirius in a crowded street." Dumbledore stopped and looked up at the night sky for a moment. He turned his face back towards Remus. "Sirius performed an extremely powerful curse, killing Peter and twelve other Muggles."

Remus stared at Dumbledore, his jaw slack. "Peter…Sirius killed…."

Dumbledore nodded. "I'm sorry, Remus. If it's any consolation to you, the Ministry caught up with Sirius after that. He'll be in Azkaban by now." Dumbledore sighed heavily.

This didn't seem to click with Remus for a moment. He continued to stare vacantly in Dumbledore's direction. Suddenly he shouted. "Azkaban! What about the trial? What if he's innocent, he could've been framed…" A tear rolled down his cheek.

Dumbledore shook his head. "Remus…I know it's hard to believe, but…well, Crouch decided not to have a trial for Sirius. All the evidence points to him, and after what he did…" he trailed off, staring hard at Remus. "Remus, are you going to be all right? If you want—"

Remus snapped out of his reverie and shook his head fiercely. "No, Professor. I'll be fine. I'm sure you have a lot more work to do tonight." He looked at Dumbledore, an odd gleam in his eyes. "Thank you for telling me," he said, before wandering off down the street.

Dumbledore stared after him for several minutes. Finally he sighed, stood up, and walked away in the opposite direction.

***

Remus wandered around the whole night. He didn't know where he went. The same memories and thoughts kept running through his head. He and his friends back at Hogwarts. Playing Quidditch with Sirius. James and Lily's wedding. Peter chuckling at his own silly jokes. Sirius tickling a laughing Harry.

Remus found himself on a small bridge. The water under him trickled by slowly, unaware of life's problems. Remus paused and looked down into the water. _I'm alone_ he thought. _I am completely alone_. Tears ran down his cheeks and mingled with the water below.

__

How could Sirius do this? he thought angrily. _How could he…_

He thought of Sirius' laughing face. Had he been playing them for fools all along? Had he ever really considered James, Lily, Peter, all of them as friends? Remus tried to wipe his eyes. _Why did Peter have to go after him?_ _He should've known he couldn't stop him. Why hadn't he himself figured out that it had been Sirius? Was he really _that_ stupid?_

Remus stared desolately at the water. _What am I going to do now? The only people I ever considered as family are gone…I have nowhere to go. I'm alone._ Remus shuddered as a fresh wave of tears came from his eyes.

"We'll always be together."

Remus jumped and looked around. He had heard the voice. He had distinctly heard the words. It had just been a whisper on the wind, but it had sounded so much like…but no, it was only the couple on the other side of the bridge. Holding on to each other, staring into each other's eyes. 

__

It sounded so much like…Remus shook himself. It couldn't have been. It was only the man and woman across the bridge. Remus stared sadly at them. They were happy. They had each other.

__

Always be together? he thought bitterly. _How little they know…_

Remus gave a shuddering sigh. Giving one last look at the couple, he walked off into the night.


End file.
